Best Science Pictures of 2010 Announced @ International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge

Here are the best science pictures of 2010 announced @ ‘International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge’ which is aimed to present beauty of science and its complex nature in a visually attractive way, helping in communicating science in a way that masses of public can understand and appreciate.

3-D Model of HIV Virus

HIV in 3-D won the first place for illustration and is the most detailed HIV 3-D model yet.

Bacteriophage Virus aka Horror Virus

Jonathan Heras of Equinox Graphics, Ltd created this 3-D image of Bacteriophage which has won a honorable mention in illustration category and it is nothing but virus with alien, spindly legs and sucker-shaped mouths that are used to relentlessly pursue their prey.

Rough Waters Micrograph

Winning the first place for photography category, this micrograph shows the rippling surface of a single layer of water molecules. Seth B. Darling in collaboration with Steven J. Sibener from Argonne National Laboratory has captured the images and according to him –

“The layer is actually comprised of two different molecules that tend to separate something like oil and water, and in this image we’ve captured what that separation looks like at a very early stage.”

Hairs on the Tomato Seed

Photographed by Robert Rock Belliveau, a retired pathologist this photograph shows the microscope-enabled closeup of hairs on the tomato seed.

AraNet – A Gene Map of Mustard Plant Arabidopsis thaliana

Earning a honorable mention in the illustrations category is AraNet which is a mustard plant gene map showing similar biological processes linked by lines with colored portion showing the strength of the link. According to the sources, a Carnegie Institution for Science team built Aranet from more than 50 million experimental observations of the plant and other organisms.

Centipede-Inspired Robot

Designed by Harvard University experts this bug-sized multisegment millirobot won an honorable mention in the photography category.